News

Any year that we get a new album from Chromatics is a sign that it’s going to be a great year for music. Thankfully for us Johnny Jewel and company are returning with new album Dear Tommy which will be released via Italians Do It Better later this year.

Today they’ve let go of a Dear Tommy offering called “I Can Never Be Myself When You’re Around,” a beautiful exploration of synth-rock and disco, perfect for late-night listening as every Chromatics track is. It features vocals from Megan Louise of Desire.

Tanlines, the New York dance-rock duo of Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm, will return with new album Highlights on May 19 via True Panther Sounds.

To celebrate today’s announcement, the band also let go of the bouncy first single “Slipping Away.” The band have more of a full-band indie-rock sound, with dance-elements pushed somewhat to the side. It reminds me a bit of The Drums, in a glamorous 80s way. It’s pleasant as all hell, and going right on the eventual summer 2015 playlist. (Last summer we saw them play at Governors Ball).

Head right here to trade your email for a free download mp3 download of “Slipping Away” or just stream it below.

Best Coast have announced that they will release new album California Nights on May 5 via Harvest Records. The duo (Bethany Cosentino + Bobb Bruno) recorded the album at WAX LTD in Hollywood, California, working with producer Wally Gagel. It’s described a “brighter, more sparkly, more sophisticated, more psychedelic Best Coast album across the board, embodying the rich lightness and stinging darkness of a California state of mind.”

Here’s what Cosentino said about the album:

If you have ever lived in California, you know what nighttime here feels like. You know what the sky looks like when those epic sunsets begin, and you understand that feeling and the way things change when the sun finally sets. In LA, or maybe just personally to me, when the sun sets – I feel like there is a large sense of calmness in the air, and I feel like everything that happened to me prior in the day, whether crappy experiences or good ones, at night, it all goes away and I sink deep into this different kind of ‘world.’

It also ties in with the idea that, in LA, there’s a real darkness that you don’t see unless you know where to look. That’s a theme we very consciously decided to explore and play with when making this record. We related to the idea that things may LOOK or SOUND fun and upbeat, but they may not actually always BE that way – much like our songs. A lot of the writing for this record consisted of me getting to know myself again and remembering where Bethany ended and Best Coast began. I took a much needed step back and I was able to breathe deep for a moment and really focus on what I was doing. The end result of all of that, is California Nights. It’s about a journey, accepting the things you have no control over; it’s about dealing with life like an adult, and at the end of the day, reminding yourself that there really is no reason to be sad, and you have every right to feel okay.

Based on first single and title track “California Nights” the album will be their biggest yet. It captures something personal, yet you feel like you’re hit with this giant wave of melancholy. It reminds me a great deal of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You,” another California band. I mean that as a compliment, of course.

I’ve fully embraced this version of Best Coast, and this song is currently paying off dividends.

It’s been three years since the last record from Kristian Matsson, aka The Tallest Man On Earth. This year he’ll correct that with a new album called Dark Bird Is Home, out May 12 via Dead Oceans.

Early last month he released a brief album trailer, and last week he shared the album’s first single, “Sagres.” While The Tallest Man On Earth is previously known for his raw, sparse acoustic sound, he changes things up on “Sagres,” jumping into something much, much, more. There’s a lot more going on here than listeners are used to, with percussion and lush string and horn arrangements. I couldn’t help but notice it called to mind elements of Beirut and War On Drugs.

It’s different, but it’s quite a beauty. Artists need to progress, and Matsson has done a great job with it here. The spirit of “Sagres” is warm and uplifting, a perfect combatant for this icy winter.

Enjoy it below, where you can also find the album trailer, tracklist and his upcoming tour dates, which includes a show at The Beacon Theatre.Read the rest of this entry »

It’s their seventh album and their first on Capitol Records. The group began recorded the album in late 2013 at the Panoramic House studio in Stinson Beach, California, with producer Tucker Martine (who co-produced their last album, Circuital).

Frontman Jim James told Rolling Stone that they entered the recording studio with a more spontaneous approach to recording. They ended up with 24 tracks, which they ended up splitting into a pair of albums, with the later set to come out in 2016.

One of those tracks was released today as a part of the album’s announcement, a dreamy psych-folk wonder called “Big Decisions.” It’s a sprawling big cut that calls to mind My Morning Jacket’s earlier days, with some slick modern stylings added for good measure.

They have also announced a set of tour dates that include Governors Ball. After seeing them play an astonishing set at The Capitol Theatre in 2012, I’m impatiently awaiting that performance come June. Find the full list of tour dates posted below, along with the album’s tracklisting and the video stream for “Big Decisions.”Read the rest of this entry »

Los Angeles band Harriet have been a band we’ve been watching for some time on this blog. So we are proud to learn, and announce, that the group has signed to Harvest Records, who released their new self-titled EP today.

In celebration of the release of the EP, and the signing, the group have released the official music video for single “Irish Margaritas.” It was directed by the band’s singer Alex Casnoff and premiered earlier today over at The Fader. Here’s what the band had to say about the video:

The LIME, our video’s hero, is the mascot for our drink sponsor (our “beats pill” if you will). Irish Margaritas // A video about object glorification and rampant/overbearing product placement–trying to give some sort of spiritual importance to a meaningless thing: LIME WORSHIP. The LIME is benevolent. The LIME tastes good. The LIME welcomes you. Heed its call.

As for the track itself, it’s got a bouncy synth-beat, along with a big folk-rooted chorus that creates a scattered electronic-rock jam that sort of sits in its own genre completely. Harriet always have had a knack of creating songs that sound huge, and Irish Margarita” is no different.

Blur are back. The Brit-rock veterans have announced that they’ll return with new album The Magic Whip on April 28 via Warner Brothers Records. It’s the band’s first new album in 12 years (2003’s Think Tank) and their first with guitarist Graham Coxon in 16 years (since 1993’s 13).

The recordings began at Avon Studio in Kowloon, Hong Kong, during a five-day break from touring in Spring 2013. They were put aside after the tour when members returned to their lives. But last November Graham Coxon revisited the tracks and got early Blur producer Stephen Street to work on the material. Damon Albarn came in, added lyrics, and then The Magic Whip and its 12-tracks were born and ready to be released.

Although we’ve had hints here and there that Blur may properly return one day, it’s still a truly surprising announcement considering that no one was really sure if they’d ever actually stay together long enough to get it done.

The announcement wasn’t the only thing we got, as they also released the music video for album cut “Go Out,” which shows us how to make homemade ice cream. Blue turn back the clocks for this one, it sounds like vintage Blur.

It’s good to have them back. I’m excited to hear the album and have my fingers crossed that they will tour stateside once again.

Governors Ball Music Festival announced the 2015 lineup last month, and today they’ve announced the single day lineups for the three days of the festival, set to go down from June 5-7 at Randall’s Islands Park.

We still have to see the set times each day, but at least now you can plan out if you want to go to just one day, or even plan out who you’re going to see each day.

Single days tickets are on presale now, with the regular sale happening Friday noon. 3-day tickets are still on sale.

It was just last week that Björk announced her new album Vulnicura. It was originally slated for a March release date (via One Little Indian), but it looks like things changed after the album’s surprising leak over the weekend. The early release of the album on iTunes is clearly a move to combat the early leak of the record. Hey, new Bjork even early. No one’s arguing with that.

Bjork took to her facebook to write a personal note to fans giving some insight into the making of the album. Find it posted below:

dear websitefolks , fans , tweeters and my music supporters on all the sorts of www :

i guess i found in my lap one year into writing it a complete heartbreak album . kinda surprised how thoroughly i had documented this in pretty much accurate emotional chronology …. like 3 songs before a break up and three after . so the anthropologist in me sneaked in and i decided to share them as such . first i was worried it would be too self indulgent but then i felt it might make it even more universal . and hopefully the songs could be a help , a crutch to others and prove how biological this process is : the wound and the healing of the wound . psychologically and physically . it has a stubborn clock attached to it .

there is a way out

and then a magic thing happened to me : as i lost one thing something else entered . alejandro contacted me late summer 2013 and was interested in working with me . it was perfect timing . to make beats to the songs would have taken me 3 years ( like on vespertine ) but this enchanted arca would visit me repeatedly and only few months later we had a whole album !!! it is one of the most enjoyable collaboration i have had !

i then went ahead and wrote string and choir arrangements and recorded them in iceland

towards the end of the album i started looking around for a mixing engineer and was introduced by a mutual friend of ours , robin carolan to the haxan cloak . he mixed the album and also made a beat for one half of “family” . together with chris elms the engineer we kinda formed a band during the mixing process and this is the album we made !!!

i do hope you enjoy it

i would like to thank this overqualified little team ( where roles often blurred )

. i also would like to thank robin , his generous approvals gave me more courage to complete this as is .

and my group of songswapping / dj friends : the right tune can truly cure : ta for those sonic ointments

but most of all i would like to thank my team : james merry , derek birkett and emma birkett . rosemary and elisa . this album could not have been done without you

The physical release date of Vulnicura is still March, which is also when Bjork will return to New York for a bunch of live shows at Carnegie Hall and New York City Center. Find those dates posted below.

It’s strange to think about Death Cab for Cutie without Chris Walla, the former co-founding member who officially left the group last year after playing one final show. But before he quit, he helped record the band’s next album, which is entitled Kintsugi and will be released March 31 via Atlantic Records.